The black stallion and Flame

Name: The black stallion and Flame
Author: Walter Farley
ISBN: 9780679820208

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Walter Farley

Reading Level 6-7 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

Here’s a secret: the Black stallion has landed on a mysterious island where another powerful stallion named Flame rules. They’re the only two kings of this wild place, but before they can battle, something even more dangerous appears. What happens next could change everything, but that’s only the beginning.

Themes

AdventureAnimalsFriendship Survival

Quick Assessment

This middle-grade fiction explores themes of friendship, rivalry, and survival through the story of two wild stallions stranded on a remote island. Suitable for readers ages 9-12, it features mild peril and animal conflict without graphic content. Parents can expect an engaging adventure centered on nature and animal behavior.

Why we rated The black stallion and Flame LE (Mild)

The black stallion and Flame is written at a Level 6-7 reading level across 165 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 8 and up can manage The black stallion and Flame on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The black stallion and Flame as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.

Thematically, The black stallion and Flame explores adventure, animals, friendship, and survival — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about adventure, animals, friendship.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Mild

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?